Vessels that travel on water have been around for thousands of years. Before the advent of modern engines, such vessels were traditionally powered by wind and oars. As more modern means of power were invented, water vessels also began to evolve.
In recent years the field of personal watercraft has taken off and developed into its own significant category. Personal watercraft, like a traditional boat, travel on water. As the name implies, personal watercraft tend to be designed for use by one person, although they are usually capable of handling a few additional riders, and they tend to travel relatively fast on the water. In contrast to “traditional” boats, personal watercraft generally do not have a deck or sitting area inside of a hull that will, for the most part, remain dry. Thus, personal watercraft tend to be ill-suited to certain recreational uses, such as fishing or serving as a means for “dry” transportation over water, even if the ultimate destination might be a spot for swimming or skin or scuba diving. Instead, personal watercrafts tend to be characterized by their ability to travel fast over the surface of the water and thereby offer a certain thrill to the rider. As such, riders of personal watercraft tend to get wet during the ride. While this is fine in warmer climates and during warmer periods of the year in certain locations, it limits the usefulness and enjoyment of such watercraft unless the rider(s) wear appropriate protective clothing, such as a wetsuit. Thus, even if an individual owns one or more personal watercraft, the same individual will likely own or use one or more separate boats if the same individual wants to participate in additional activities, such as family boating, fishing, jet skiing, and the like.
Still, personal watercraft serve a very real need, and they have become so popular that, in 1987, the Personal Watercraft Industry Association (“PWIA”) was founded as an affiliate of the National Marine Manufacturers Association, representing five U.S. personal watercraft manufacturers—American Honda Motor Co., Inc., Bombardier Recreational Products, Kawasaki Motors Corp, U.S.A., Polaris Industries Inc. and Yamaha Motor Corp., U.S.A. According to information set forth on the official PWIA website, found at www.pwia.org, the PWIA was formed “to bring together companies that manufacture personal watercraft (PWC) in order to promote safe and responsible operation of personal watercraft and work with federal, state and local agencies which have regulatory responsibilities for recreational boating. PWIA has a simple mission: ensuring that personal watercraft and personal watercraft users are treated fairly when local, state, and federal government officials consider boating regulations. PWIA supports and actively advocates for reasonable regulations, strong enforcement of boating and navigation laws, and mandatory boating safety education for all PWC operators.” According to the PWIA, a PWC is defined as follows: “The official definition of a personal watercraft varies from state to state, but they are generally recognized as a vessel which uses an inboard motor powering a water jet pump as its primary source of motive power, and which is designed to be operated by a person sitting, standing, or kneeling on the vessel, rather than the conventional manner of sitting or standing in the vessel.”
Obviously, personal watercraft represent a significant market segment for such craft to have their own industry trade association, and the information put out by this organization is useful to provide a better understanding of this industry. According to the PWIA, the following is a history of their industry:
The personal watercraft (PWC) concept originated in the 1960s when a home inventor conceived and built his notion of a powered water ski. This design combined the elements of self-power, small size, and a maneuverable, active ride. Bombardier Recreational Products, known for its Ski-Doo snowmobiles, introduced a craft in the late 1960s with limited success. This craft gets credit for being the first sit-down style PWC. In the early 1970s, Kawasaki Motors Corp. U.S.A. introduced the Jet Ski® watercraft, the first commercially successful PWC.
PWC are considered by the U.S. Coast Guard to be inboard boats under 16 feet in length. They are powered by either a 2-stroke gasoline engine (the same basic engine type which is found in most outboard motors), or by a 4-stroke gasoline engine, the same engine type used in cars. The engine drives a jet pump that draws water from the bottom of the craft into an impeller (a type of propeller fitted into a surrounding “tunnel”), which pressurizes the water and forces it out a nozzle at the rear of the craft. It is this jet of pressurized water that propels and steers the craft when the throttle is engaged. New off-throttle steering technology offers personal watercraft users increased maneuverability when the throttle is disengaged.
There are five major companies currently active in the personal watercraft market. In the mid-1980s, Kawasaki's Jet Ski® watercraft was joined by Yamaha Motor Corp. U.S.A.'s line of WaveRunner® models, which truly began the change in market emphasis from the stand-up style PWC to a sit-down style with one- or two-person capacities. Shortly after, Bombardier Recreational Products re-joined the market with their Sea-Doo® line. In the early 1990s, snowmobile giant Polaris Industries Inc. joined the PWC market, and in 2002 American Honda began selling PWC, the AquaTrax. Along the way, two-person craft quickly took over from the single person style, and today three- and four-person family models are showing the strongest growth. Multiple-person family craft currently make up more than 97 percent of personal watercraft sales.
The first PWC consumer magazines also began to hit the racks in the mid-1980s. Splash, Personal Watercraft Illustrated, Water Scooter (now Watercraft World), and PWC Magazine sang the praises of the new and rapidly growing sport. Growth of the sport was rapid up until the mid-1990s, and what was once a small portion of the recreational motorized consumer product business became the fastest growing sport in this category. At the same time, the PWC industry became the fastest growing segment in the marine business.”
However, while the industry has grown very quickly, such growth has not been without its problems. Some of the problems that have faced the industry are noise, pollution and safety concerns. In addition, whether it is due to such concerns, cyclic sales, economic conditions, bad press, changing demographics or clientele, or simple saturation, or a combination of the above, sales of PWC has been in decline for six years. According to the PWIA:
“Sales of PWC peaked in 1995 with approximately 200,000 units sold. Since that time, annual PWC sales have declined significantly. In 1998 there were approximately 130,000 units sold. Sales of PWC have continued to drop in recent years, though they began to level off in 2002 with sales of 79,300.”
Still, lest such decline in sales be taken out of context, it is important to realize that overall sales and usage of PWC are still quite large. Once again, according to PWIA:
“According to National Marine Manufacturers Association estimates, there were approximately 1.35 million PWC owned in 2002. The average retail price of a PWC in 2002 was $8,800. Since the mid-1990s, sit-down style, multi-passenger watercraft have made up around 99 percent of all PWC sales, with three- and four-passenger family models the fastest growing segment. Twenty million Americans ride personal watercraft each year.”
Accordingly, there is a very strong and real need for improved PWC that address some of the major concerns of the industry, namely, noise, pollution and safety, while still offering a PWC enthusiast what he or she is looking for, including a fun ride. Additionally, there has been a long-felt need for a PWC-like vessel that is more flexible and offers greater flexibility in use than current PWC; in other words, a PWC-like vessel that is useful for activities such as fishing, transportation, and the like. However, for such a vessel to truly meet such a need, it must be easy to transport, like a PWC, and it must not be too expensive. It is this long-felt need that is addressed by the present invention.